The Blog

One of the things I’m still perfecting in my life is my ability – my willingness – to ask for things. For help. For time. For a cookie. Whatever.

I’m getting much better at it – heck, I’m a lot better at it than when I first opened my business doors a decade and half ago, that’s for sure. And there are times when my “ask-muscle” still stiffens up. What I know, is that I’m not the only one who grapples with this. In light of the universality of this challenge, I want to offer some advice:  ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT. ALWAYS.

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”  So said Will Rogers, and when I first read this quote I found myself nodding in vehement agreement. Then I got to thinking (because I enjoy mulling things over): while I do believe that there’s a truth in the quote, at the same time I see some challenges. Let me explain.

The essence of what Will Rogers is suggesting is that you’ve got to keep plugging along, you’ve got to keep moving forward, you cannot just stand still if you actually want to reach your destination, or accomplish your objective, whatever it might be. This SEEMS true. The danger, however, lies in the implication that such forward movement must be perpetual, never-ending. There’s a suggestion that you cannot stop. And this can be a problem at times.

For as long as I’ve been in the professional world, confidentiality has been a tenet by which I’ve worked. It was something I learned early on – when I first started as a volunteer in the arena of social services. We were all taught the importance – and necessity – of confidentiality, and what it meant for the safety of those whom we served.

The essence of confidentiality is this: there’s some information – usually personal in nature – that is nobody’s business outside of the immediate person or people involved. The concept of holding things in confidence is powerfully engrained in many fields and organizations.

Recently, I had someone contact me for coaching support. This is someone who I’ve known since before I started my company – so over 15 years. While she is aware of what I do as a life and leadership coach, we really haven’t talked about my work – or how it might be of benefit to her.

So I was surprised when she called out of the blue, saying that she wanted to hire me.

Turns out, she’s been feeling the need for coaching support for a few years now – you read that right, a few YEARS. From a space of curiousity, I asked her what the catalyst was for her to finally make the call? Her answer? Things had reached a critical, breaking point with respect to her leadership.

Fascinating.

From time to time, everybody questions why they’re here on earth.  It’s an indicator of evolution as a human being:  the question of how to be productive, how to contribute to society, how to make a difference in the world will always arise at some point.

Often – and particularly for leaders – this question is linked to “finding a career-path”.  It’s time to bust some myths in this regard.  I want to lay waste to some common misconceptions that abound when it comes to

a) figuring out your life purpose and
b) determining what career path you’re meant to follow.

Here’s what I’ve come to know for sure.